Process of making hydrocarbon and combustible gas.



um-ran STATES PATENT orrroa T HENRY s. BLAcKMoaE, or MOUNT VERNON, NEW YORK. Pnocess 0F MAKING HYDRQQARBON AVND'COMBUSITIBLE Gas,

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented May 1, 1968.

Application filed September 1905. Serial No. 279,591-

at Mount Vernon, in the county of Westches-. 5 ter and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Processes of Making Hydrocarbon and Combustible Gas, of which the following is a speci: fication.

The object of my invention is .to make hydrocarbons and combustible gas,'such as me-,

thane and carbonic oxid; and it consists in exposing ketones to the action of steam and heat and preferably in contact with carbon heated to incandescence.

' roduction of methane (CH,) from dimethyl iietone or acetone (C H' O) for the purpose of supplying to of the gas are increased on combustion, by

' which means an equivalent amount of heat may be obtained from poorer grades of gas, thus rendering them of value for heating and illuminating urposes, especially with bur-n ers of the We sbach type.

It is well known that many natural gases are rich in heat-producing hydrocarbons, such-as methane, some of which contain as high as ninety-five per cent.'; but it isobvious.

. that they can only be employed to advantage at. points in proximity to. ,'gas-wells on account of the expense of pipin 'or transportation in compressed form to dlstant' points, which thus renders them of no commercial value for mixing with manufactured water or other gas in large cities. I'have, how ever, discovered that the natural hydrocarbons from the gas-wells can be readily transformed into liquid or solid ketones by chemical treatment, so that they can bereadlly shipped or transported and then by action of steam, carbon, and heatreconverted into hydrocarbons and combustible gasesagain. For instance, I can convert the methane into dimethyl ketoneor acetone by the act on of carbon dioxid and heat by proper manipulation and ship the same in tank-cars or by other convenient means to distant gas-works,

My invention relates particularly to the.

manufactured illuminating or fue gases a product whereby the heat-units candescence it is againconverted into methane (CH thus:

0 11 0 H 0 heat 20H C0,.

- This mixture -of methane and carbon dioxi-d being contact with heated carbon is trans* formed into methane and carbonic oxid, thus It is found that one'barrel or about four cubic feet of acetone thus treated will protwenty cubic feet of combustible -gas containmg about fifty per cent., by volume, of methane (CH In carry ng out my invention I prefer to introduce acetone, dimethyl ketone, gradually lay-dropping the same into superheated steam at about 400 Fahrenheit in about equivalent proportions for reaction and convey the mixture into a furnace containing carbon, such as coal or coke heated to incan descence, whereby a reaction takes place, as above described, roducing methane and carbonic oxid, whic can be afterward mixed with water-gas, oil-gas, or utilized as desired.

It is obvious that man other constituents of natural gas, such as the higher hydrocarbons, may be transformed into ketones .which may exist'in liquid or solid form, the same being applicable to transformation by my process by the-action of steam, carbon,

and heat into hydrocarbon and carbonic oxid as before described, and 'I' do not limit myself to the employment of dimethyl ketone, as

many other etones, simple and complex, may be employed for producing other hydrocarbons and carbonic om'd by my rocess,

which consists, essentially, in trans orming ketones by the action of-superheated steam,

into hydrocarbons and carbonic oxid and preferablyiin'contact with incandescent car bon, whereby the resultin product is a combustible gas consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbon and carbonic oxid.

i It'is obvious that the carbon in contact with which the mixture of superheated steam and acetone or other reactive product is brought maybeheated by electrical resistance or any other convenient means.

Where by exposing the same to the action of superheated steam and carbonheated to in- I Having now duce about .five thousand seven hundred and.

described my invention, what heat. 10 3.

I claim as new, and d esire to secure by Letters Patent, is' 1. The process of producing hydrocarbon, which consists in exposing a ketone to the be 5 'tion ofsteam and heat. p

2. The processofprod ucing hydrocarbon,

Which consists in exposing a gaseous mix.

ture of ketone and steam to the action of Theprocess of producing methane, which consistsin exposing acetone, dimethyl 

